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Suburban Xanadu : the casino resort on the Las Vegas strip and beyond / David G. Schwartz.
Van Pelt Library HV6721.N45 S39 2003
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Schwartz, David G., 1973-
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Casinos--Nevada--Las Vegas.
- Casinos.
- Gambling industry--Nevada--Las Vegas.
- Gambling industry.
- Suburban life--United States.
- Suburban life.
- United States.
- Lifestyles--United States.
- Lifestyles.
- Leisure--United States.
- Leisure.
- Las Vegas (Nev.)--Social life and customs.
- Las Vegas (Nev.).
- United States--Social life and customs.
- Manners and customs.
- Nevada--Las Vegas.
- Physical Description:
- x, 243 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
- Other Title:
- Casino resort on the Las Vegas strip and beyond
- Place of Publication:
- New York : Routledge, 2003.
- Summary:
- Crime, corruption, exoticism, escapism, family entertainment, and egalitarianism -- all under one roof. The lures and promises of the casino have evolved dramatically over the course of the past century, and the suburban oasis of today's casino resort is hardly the den of iniquity castigated by anti-gambling critics or romanticized by casino operators. Today we live in a veritable "casino archipelago" in which most Americans live within a four-hour drive of one of the all-inclusive hotel/restaurant/entertainment complexes. So what are the forces behind this phenomenon? Tracing the evolution of the casino resort from its roots in the post-World War II domestic urban exodus, Suburban Xanadu argues that the self-contained casino resort arose at precisely the right historical moment. Having shuttled and shuttered gambling and its social problems away from cities and into the more sanitized cultural and physical landscape of middle America, the casino resort evolved into a quintessential American institution. Remarkably detailed and entertaining, Suburban Xanadu tells us a great deal about popular leisure in America, and why the suburban ideal has become so dominant in our social life.
- Contents:
- Chapter 1 The Righteous and the Wicked 15
- Chapter 2 The Unwholesome Allure 33
- Chapter 3 A Fruitful Containment 63
- Chapter 4 Organizing Luck 91
- Chapter 5 Wiseguy Empire 123
- Chapter 6 When the Suits Come Marching In 147
- Chapter 7 The Casino Archipelago 175
- Epilogue: Odds against Tomorrow 209.
- Notes:
- Based on his Ph. D. thesis in history, presented to the University of California, Los Angeles.
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-238) and index.
- ISBN:
- 0415935563
- 0415935571
- OCLC:
- 51445906
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